Primary Care Partners is Your Healthcare Destination, and we are here to make sure our patients are making informed decisions when it comes to their health – including when and if to get vaccinations. Primary Care Partners recommends adults and children stay up to date on their vaccination schedule, as prescribed by their healthcare provider. Staying current on vaccinations helps protect ourselves and our community.

Vaccines for Children

Making sure your child is current on their doctor-recommended vaccine schedule is one way to help stop preventable diseases that may make your child seriously ill. Because a baby’s immune system is not fully developed at birth, babies face a greater risk of becoming infected and vaccination protects your child by helping build up their natural defenses. According to the Center for Disease Control:

Children are exposed to thousands of germs every day. This happens through the food they eat, the air they breathe, and the things they put in their mouth.

Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but some germs cause serious or even deadly diseases a baby can’t handle. For those, babies need the help of vaccines.

Vaccines use very small amounts of antigens to help your child’s immune system recognize and learn to fight serious diseases. Antigens are the parts of a germ that cause the body’s immune system to go to work.

It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat one after it occurs.

  • Vaccination is a safe, highly effective, and easy way to help keep your family healthy.
  • The recommended vaccination schedule balances when a child is likely to be exposed to a disease and when a vaccine will be most effective.
  • Vaccines are tested to ensure they can be given safely and effectively at the recommended ages.

Vaccination Beyond Childhood

Vaccination doesn’t stop at childhood – it’s important to keep up with your provider-recommended vaccine schedule to reduce the risk of diseases as an adult and to help protect the community from preventative disease. You may also be at risk for other diseases due to your age, job, lifestyle, travel, or health conditions. All adults should get:

  • Flu vaccine every year to protect against seasonal flu
  • Td/Tdap to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough)
  • You may also need additional vaccines if you are traveling overseas
  • If you have lung disease or you are older than age 65, talk to your provider about the Covid vaccine

Don’t wait – vaccinate! Talk to your Primary Care Partners provider to make sure that you are up to date with your current vaccines. We are here to help if you have any questions or concerns about the vaccines you may need.